Lost Blood
by midnightdawn014
Summary: Not really a KH fic, just an idea I'm playing with after seeing Verum Rex. Contains elements from Verum Rex and Final Fantasy XV for now. It's a work in progress and subject to change as I might go back and modify things that have been posted. I hope you enjoy!
1. Of Gods and Kings

Lost Blood

Chapter 1: Of Gods and Kings

_That moment between being awake and drifting away feels like a reality from another time and place. A part of me feels like it doesn't exist, yet another part knows it does. I know something but how?_

"Hey prince charming, are you still dreaming? You're like sleeping beauty at this point who needs a kiss from your one true love to wake you up."

"No I don't." The awakened dreamer moves away, pulls his friend's hat off and tosses it across the room.

"That was uncalled for Yozora!"

"Are you two done playing around?"

"Relax Aegis, we have plenty of time." Yozora takes off a pair of googles and steps out of a pod.

Aegis pushes his glasses up and frowns at them. "Hopefully you did decent on the written exam or all your efforts in the Gigas stimulator would be for nothing." He whips around to face Magia. "And you! You were nearly late to the exam!"

Magia ignores Aegis' death stare and continues to fix his hat in front of the mirror. "I had a fashion emergency."

Aegis crosses his arms. "Luckily my high scores should be enough to bring our team average to passable levels. If it weren't for you two, team 14 wouldn't be one of the lowest ranking teams."

"Don't you worry, once they see us in the Gigas, we'll shoot up the ranks to prime! This is why I'm dressed for the occasion. Gotta make sure they get my good side for our photo op." Magia winks at the mirror and spins around to face them.

Yozora chuckles at him and tries to knock his hat off again. "In your dreams."

Magia manages to dodge and keep his hat on. He spins around Yozora. "By the way, what were you dreaming of?"

"Nothing new."

Magia looks at him knowingly and puts his arm around his shoulder. "The mysterious blond again."

"In a world of Gods and Kings?"

Yozara looks up at his friends and nods.

"You've been listening to crazy old Cid too much." Magia pulls away from Yozora and hops onto a table. He hunches over imitating the look of an old man and begins talking in a wheezy voice.

In ages past, Gods and mortals lived side by side, working together. There came a time when they had to part ways. As a sign of their friendship, the Gods left behind a crystal that held their powers for the people to call upon it in times of need. The crystal blessed one of pure heart and soul with the power to summon the strength of the Gods from the crystal and bring it to life. What should have been a blessing from the Gods ended up being a curse for the chosen priestess and her beloved, the king.

A neighboring empire grew jealous of their favor with the Gods and sought to claim the crystal as their own to harness the power of Gods. They waged a fierce war but the priestess refused to have her kingdom fall. She used the crystal to summon the greatest of Gods and brought forth Bahamut. She directed Bahamut to her beloved's side on the battlefield, as the enemies expected she would. While the majority of the kingdom's forces were occupied at the frontline fighting alongside their king and the power of the Bahamut, another force was able to sneak into the citadel in search of the crystal. The priestess did what she could to keep the enemy away from the crystal, but she was overwhelmed with focusing on drawing upon the crystal's strength to keep the Bahamut's form alive and dealing with the unceasing force of the enemy. Only when the Bahamut's form wavered did the king realized that his beloved was in trouble. He left his men on the battlefield and returned to the citadel in haste to find his beloved covered in blood and stumbling down the hall.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't keep them away from the crystal."

"You should have escaped."

"And let you become weakened in battle."

"The crystal is useless to them anyway. They can't control it."

"Not yet, but they're doing something to it so they can."

"Once I get you to a healer, I'll take care of those bastards."

The priestess shakes her head sadly. "It's too late for me. But while there's still time, we can transfer the power of the crystal and leave them with an empty shell. I just need to find something to contain it."

"Use me as a vessel."

"You can't! Its power is too great, it'll destroy your body, and you'll die!"

The king brushed the tears streaming down her face. "I can't let you go alone."

"But our children will be."

"Would you rather they join us in death? If we don't put this to rest now, we'll lose them too. Don't worry; they'll be well taken care of, as long as we keep them safe and protect them from this."

As much as the priestess hated to admit it, with time running out there was no other choice. She guided her king into a chamber away from the enemy but still close enough for her to feel the presence of the crystal.

"Doesn't this bring back old times when we use to sneak around to get some time alone." The king gave her a boyish grin and set her down gently.

The priestess couldn't help smiling. The king never failed to bring a smile to her face, even on their darkest day. No wonder she fell for him. She couldn't believe their end would soon come. But they must do this, for their people and most of all, for their children, who were still too young to remember their faces. She shook away the thoughts that threatened to weaken her resolve and set to work. With shaking hands, she proceeded to trace symbols on her king's face using her blood. The king watched her lovingly, brought his lips against hers and whispered of his love. She closed her eyes in an attempt to stop her tears and tried to keep her thoughts from drifting away to impossible dreams and tomorrows.

Shouts in the distant disrupted their silence and pressured the priestess. The priestess began chanting with haste, praying that there was enough time. A warm glow filled the room and grew brighter until the form of Bahamut stood before them.

The king knelt before it and announced. "I kneel before you, requesting that accept my offering as your vessel."

The Bahamut faded into light and floated into the king's body. The king clenched his teeth to keep from crying out as he felt the heat of the light burning him. Suddenly, the doors burst open and the enemy flooded the chamber**.**

"Well look what we have here boys, the bitch is still alive and getting in the way again. Make sure she stays dead this time."

Despite the tremendous pain that kept him pinned to his place, the king found the strength to reach the priestess' side.

The priestess shook her head at him. "You shouldn't, the ritual isn't complete."

"No one insults you and gets away with it." The king looked to the leader. "I guess I have something you want, but you'll have to kill me for it."

The king drew his sword and charged forward. The light continued to flow into his body and weaken him, but he still held his ground. The priestess put up shields around him but neglected to protect herself and she was struck. The king turned his back on the enemy and dashed to the priestess.

"What was it you said earlier? I have to kill you, to get what I want?"

Just as the king was about to turn and face the enemy, a sword went through him and into his priestess. The light that was concentrated around him went scattering.

The king bent his head and rested his forehead against the priestess'. "I'm sorry, I thought we could do it."

"But you haven't lost what you've gained. Don't you feel it, it hasn't vanished. We can bring this to an end now. Let the blood of my blood, bring thy power within to an eternal slumber."

With their dying breaths, the king and the priestess sealed what remained of the power of the Gods. A light exploded from them and when it faded their bodies disappeared, leaving a crystal in their place. For years, the empire was unsuccessful in unsealing the power from this crystal. In time the seal weaken and the empire was able to harness its power to create weapons of mass destruction. Unfortunately, they weren't able to control their creations. The power of Gods became tainted and gave birth to creatures of nightmares. Only the bloodline of the last king and priestess can tame the power of the Gods and seal it away from the hands of the empire.

Yozara groaned at Magia's performance. "Now I know why I have weird dreams."

"You dream of me."

"That would be a nightmare."

Aegis brought his hands together. "I believe you found your true calling. You can replace crazy old Cid."

"I do play the role of the dashing king to perfection."

"Are you kidding, the priestess suits you best. Who knew you could pull off such a feminine voice."

"You my friend need to be introduced to more women if you thought that was 's a shame your dream girl only exists in your dreams. The lost princess of the king and the priestess is more real than your dream girl. So real, that we can actually go searching for her."

"If only we lived in your fairy tale world, we would go out looking for your make-believe princess. Besides, since did that story have anything about their descendant being a princess, for all you know it's a prince."

"We should get going; we wasted enough time discussing such tales of treason."

"How was that tale committing treason Aegis?"

"That silly tale puts the blame on our empire for the existence of those monsters. If our empire didn't create the Gigas, we would have no means to fight."

"Where do you think those monsters came from anyway?"

"No one knows, it's been lost to history."

"But crazy old Cid seemed to know."

"He knew some folktale that probably originated from the countryside where they hold a grudge towards the empire. And if we're even one minute late, I will hold a grudge against you, your children and your children's children!" Aegis grabbed Yozora and Magia by their collars and practically dragged them out.

"Do we really have to get there now? It's still so early; we'll be the only team there."

"It'll give us time to warm up and go over some strategies."

"With all the reviews you're making us do, I can recite them in my sleep."

The boys continued to bicker on their way to the training fields, unaware of a presence hidden in the shadows.

"Target located"


	2. Of Machines and Monsters

Chapter 2: Of Machines and Monsters

"Coms check."

Yozora snapped out. "Read you loud and clear Aegis."

"We need code names."

"Our objective is to locate, neutralize the target, and collect the crystal."

"Hey! Are you ignoring me?"

"Did you forget Magia, the proctors will be listening in."

"And they will appreciate the fact that I took the initiative to suggest code names. What if someone hacked our channel? They would be able to listen and discover who we are, find out where we live-"

"I'll happily offer anyone your information for free if you don't shut it! You're getting distracted from the mission! FOCUS!"

"You know, on real missions there will be plenty of distractions. You need to be able to work under pressure Aegis."

"NAVIGATION CHECK! WEAPONS CHECK!"

"Someone is feeling pressured." Magia sang out.

"Systems all green. Let's head out."

"AND NO MORE CHITCHAT ABOUT ANYTHNG ELSE BUT THE MISSION!"

"So our target is an iron giant."

"That's right! They don't need to test our skills against small fry. We can take down the big guys without a problem!"

"I didn't know daemons that big were captured. I thought they were destroyed on sight."

"The academy has come a long way. Soon they'll discover a way to eradicate the daemons for good. So far, their research allows daemons of any size to be captured for further research, and of course to test us cadets. I've pulled up the data on iron giants. We should review it on the way. The scanners aren't picking up anything yet, so we're still far away."

Iron giants are massive beings, completely encased in metal. They wield huge swords and are rarely seen without one. They are commonly found outside the border of the academy's capital. Thanks to the defense corps, they never make it in. Their big and heavy frame slows their movement. If you see one, you might be able to make a run for it. However, if you're caught within its range, it has a way of drawing you in even closer and once it gets into the momentum, it's impossible to avoid its sword.

"Hold on, something is coming up on the scanners."

They paused and observed their surroundings. A flock of birds flew out from the trees as if they were fleeing. The wind picked up and the ground started to tremble. There were cracks forming beneath them. They quickly leaped away to avoid falling into the widening chasm. Yozora moved to one side of the opening while Magia and Aegis moved to the other. The shaking stopped as suddenly as it started.

"Was that suppose to happen?" Magia slowly stepped away from the cracks.

"I've sent a status report to the proctors for their input, but they're not responding."

"So I guess we carry on and finish this?"

Magia looked across to Yozora. "I don't think we can make it that far across to reach you. It looks too wide. I don't trust faith enough to make this leap."

"I looked through the updated maps. It looks like there's a gap narrow enough that we can make it across. Yozora, continue to search for the iron giant. Confirm its location and wait for us. Do not engage it on your own."

"Got it. See you guys on the other side."

"Hey! Just wait a minute! Why is Aegis giving orders? We never decided on him being the leader!"

Yozora held in a laugh and waved before disappearing into the thicket of trees. Aegis let out an exasperated sigh. It was going to be a long trek with Magia.

Yozora continued through the training grounds behind their academy. He never heard of a test that had natural disturbances, but the training ground was far from natural. It was an artificial environment that mimicked the natural world outside their academy. Maybe the proctors threw in something new to test. They have to be ready for anything in order to take daemons down.

His scanner finally detected the absence of life, a potential location of the iron giant. The appearances of daemons absorb the life out of their surroundings, leaving a trail of decay. Yozora eventually came across an area void of any color except for varying shades of gray. Vegetation life was crumbling into dust before his eyes. Yozora sent a message to his team with the exact coordinates and surveyed the area. He found evidence of the iron giant, he just needed to narrow down its location. He went around the perimeter, struggling to maneuver his Gigas through the dead vines. He tore a tree out of his way and found the iron giant facing a young woman.

_Is that a civilian?_

The wind was blowing her long blond hair across her face so Yozora couldn't get a good look at her. She reminded him of the blond he kept seeing in his dreams. If she turned his way, he felt like he would see the girl from his dreams. Yozora lost his focus out of surprise and his Gigas slipped and fell forward. Yozora rushed to get his Gigas standing again.

_She shouldn't be here. It's dangerous!_

Yozora gave up trying to get his Gigas to stand and popped open the hatch instead. He raced towards her.

"Hey! Get out of here! Run!"

Yozora slide in between her and the iron giant. Time seemed to slow down as he looked at it and found it staring into his eyes. There was a shadow that filled the iron giant's eyes that was fading. Yozora grabbed the girl's hand to pull her away from the danger, but she refused to move away. A light filled the iron giant's eyes and spread over its body. Yozora shielded his eyes against the bright light. When the light faded, the iron giant was gone and in its place was a crystal.

"You're the one."

Yozora turned to look at the young woman and froze. She looked exactly like the one from his dreams.

_Am I dreaming?_

A loud explosion went off in the distance. Yozora let go of her hand to look around, but when he turned back to her, she was gone.

_Where did she go?_

"Yozora!"

Bent trees trunks were shoved out of the way and two Gigas came into view.

"Magia! Aegis!"

Magia stopped his machine and popped open the hatch. "You went ahead and had fun without us!" He hopped out and picked up the crystal.

Aegis opened his hatch and joined them on the ground. "I told you to wait for us. This is a team exercise, that could have been dangerous."

"I know you guys. It's just…" _Did you see a blond girl who was here? _"Just happened so quickly. By the way, did you guys hear that explosion not too long ago?" _Or is that also a figment of my…dream?_

Aegis nodded. "I've reported it to the proctors, but again they haven't said anything."

"How did you fight the iron giant with your Gigas in this state?"

Yozora looked over to where Magia was pulling tangled vines off his Gigas.

_I fell and must have gone unconscious. While I was down, I started having weird dreams. And someone likely took care of the iron giant before I got here. That makes more sense. That's probably what happened._

"Cadets!"

The three of them spun around quickly and saluted the Gigas that entered the area.

"Captain"

"I see you managed to complete your exam. I wish I could offer you a congrats under better circumstances." The captain stepped out of his Gigas and took the crystal off Magia's hands.

"What do you mean sir?"

"We've been trying to reach you for some time now, but it looks like the rebels have been jamming our signals. They've hit our factory. The city is under lockdown until further notice. I'll escort you boys back into the capital where you'll await further instructions. Now get back in your Gigas and follow me."

"Yes sir!"

* * *

"Is it ok for everyone to be out in the city like this?"

"It's likely regular civilians were not informed of the situation."

"So…does that mean it's not that serious?"

"The last thing that's needed is to spread panic. Now keep your mouth shut before someone hears you!"

"Says the one who's yelling at the top of his lungs."

"Do you guys think we passed?"

"We did get the crystal."

"But that wasn't the point of the exercise. We are supposed to be evaluated on-"

Yozora tuned his friends out and looked up at the sky. He was thinking about telling them what had happened, but he was suddenly pulled back. He came face to face with a stranger with a pair of bright blue eyes and brown spiky hair. Yozora watched his expression fall and words dying on his lips.

"Sorry, I thought you were someone else." The stranger turned and walked off.

"You have a lot of lookalikes Yozora. Weren't you called _'Noct'_ by someone else?"

Yozora shrugged. "So what are we doing for dinner?"

"We need to return to our dormitory and await further instructions there."

"Or…we can get our further instructions here?"

The big screens in the capital flashed breaking news. Magia joined the gathering crowd in front of one of the screens. Yozora and Aegis followed his bobbing hat in the crowd. A picture of a wanted rebel was displayed across the screen. It was the girl from the forest, the one from his dreams.

"You're real."


End file.
